KOLKATA: With the assembly elections of 2016 drawing near and the poll campaigns expected to start from March, the home department is planning to purchase 10 bullet-proof SUVs to enhance the security of chief minister Mamata Banerjee. However, some of these cars will also be used for other VVIPs, when they will campaign in various parts of the state.

A senior Nabanna official said that tenders have been floated for the purchase of 10 bullet-proof cars and the supplier needs to provide the cars by March 1, 2016.

The security officials had earlier repeatedly asked the CM to use a bullet-proof car during her official tours, but Banerjee refused to do so except during her trips to Jangalmahal. An official said that the Santro car which the CM uses on a daily basis is not bullet proof.

The security officials are worried with the inputs that Maoists are regrouping in Jangalmahal. Since the CM is expected to visit the remote areas of Purulia, Midnapore (west) and Bankura, where the rebels are reportedly gaining grounds, the home department is in no mood to take any chance.

Nabanna officials are, however, not sure if they can procure ten bullet-proof cars at one go, as demand for the vehicles is quite high now. The cost of one such bullet-proof car is anything between Rs 40 lakh and 50 lakh, an official said. Since the Bihar and Tamil Nadu elections are due in November, a number of politicians are also looking for such cars. Several industrialists are also keen on procuring bullet-proof cars.

The state used to procure the cars from Ordnance Factory, Medak. When Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was the chief minister, four bullet-proof cars were procured. "One of those cars once was detected with a punctured tyre when the former CM was touring the districts triggering a major security threat. This time, the home department has not placed the order with the Medak factory, instead they want to get it from dealers or suppliers who design the SUVs," said a source from the state secretariat.

On specifications, an official said the vehicles should survive firing from AK 47 from a distance of 10 metres and should remain unscathed even when grenades blast below it. They also want the cars to run at least 50 kilometres after being hit by bullets.

Officials said that at least two to four of the bullet-proof cars will be used in the convoy of the chief minister and two will be placed in north Bengal, so that the CM can use it during her campaigns there. Banerjee has reportedly told the party leaders that she would prefer to campaign on road instead of using the chopper, as the opposition might question the source of fund for hiring choppers.